NFL to let football fans create personalized online service

Reuters Staff

2 Min Read

LOS ANGELES, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The National Football League, which already offers football-crazed fans programs on its own cable channel, online and mobile, is launching an “NFL Now” video service that lets fans personalize programs on Internet-connected devices.

The league said NFL Now will launch this summer worldwide on mobile devices, and in the United States through Verizon Communications Inc, on Microsoft Corp’s XBox One console, on Yahoo Sports and online.

It expects to add other distribution partners in future, it said.

NFL Now takes the league’s online content a step further by letting viewers follow teams, like and dislike videos, and access a wider amount of on-demand content.

The site will be offered for free, while a premium version called NFL Now Plus will be available for a monthly fee to be announced later. The new service, which is not expected to offer live games, will stream live events that include league and team press conferences and the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame induction weekend.

Gillette Co, a league sponsor, would sponsor NFL Now programming, the league said. The NFL said it would announce other sponsors before the service’s launch this summer, timed to be ahead of the 2014 season’s start.